Hayley

"Josh, did you hear that?" I whispered, turning over to where Josh was facing me.

He nodded solemnly and there was a long stretch of silence. I was afraid to look to where Cameron and Tim were sitting, fearing that after what I just heard Cameron might be...Well...Crying...I'd never actually seen Cameron cry before, and if I did, I thought it might mean there was no hope.

"What's gonna happen to us?" I finally asked. 

Josh swallowed hard and turned his head, looking toward Cameron who hand his face buried in his hands. Tim was just sitting there, not moving, not saying a word.

"I don't know," Josh answered laying back down.

"Why is Tim helping us?" I asked.

"Maybe because she wants to."

"...I like her..." I told him, admitting it more to myself then anyone else.

And I did. I would love to be friends with her. She was nice, funny, and totally smart...And Cameron was so crushing on her.

"Me too. She's nice...But I really don't know enough about her to say anything," Josh said honestly.

"Well I don't think she's gonna come right out and tell us everything."

"Go to sleep Hayley. They'll figure everything out."

As much as I wanted to stay up and help them, I knew it was probably best to leave them alone. So I followed Josh's advice and lay back down, eventually falling asleep.

<<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>>

Cameron

So, I didn't get ANY sleep last night, but I did see a breathtaking sunrise. Tim had gone to tend to Jay early while I started up a fire for breakfast, deciding that it was probably the best thing to keep my mind occupied. Besides, the rest of the pipsqueaks would most likely want something to eat when they woke up.

Tim came back after a while and we were silent while I mixed up some batter from the few previsions we had. Eventually, Tim got up from her sitting position and grabbed a stick, walking over to me without saying a word. She didn't look at me, but she squatted down beside the fire and started to draw some lines in the dirt, her face as solemn as the grave.

"What's that for?" I finally asked.

She didn't look up from the ground, somehow giving me the impression that she was mad at me.

"Are you mad?"

"What? Of course not! Why should I be?" She replied, looking at me like I was insane.

"Sorry, you just looked kinda...angry..."

"Oh that. I always look either angry or sad when I'm thinking...I've had more then one person ask me if I was mad."

"Well, what is it for?"

She stayed silent again while she drew a few more lines, then she stood up, looking over her handy work. To me, it just looked like a bunch of random lines, but I was sure that it was more important then that.

"It's a diagram," she finally said.

"A diagram of the surrounding country side. There's a small cabin not far from here where you can stay. I'll make some fake tracks so that the Fierce won't be able to find you."

"Well about you?" I asked.

Tim looked down at her hands and didn't answer for a while, which could only mean bad news.

"I'll have them follow me until we get to the beach, then I'll deal with them. They've been out on the loose for far too long and I can't take it anymore. I'm gonna make sure they never hurt another soul again."

"Then what?"

"I'll leave."

"Why? Tim, is that all you ever do? You just help some random strangers and then pick up and leave? What kind of a life is that?" I blurted out, standing up.

"It's my life!" She retorted, standing up as well.

"And it's the only one I've got!"

"You don't have to, you know. You don't have to constantly live on the road."

"How do you know? I can live on the road if I darn well want to!"

"But do you want to?"

Tim didn't answer. She just stood there and stared, eventually walking off into the woods. I sat back down and made more pancakes, trying to keep my mind off of the near future. I know it doesn't make any sense, but when this all started, I wanted her to leave, and now that she's leaving, I don't want her to leave.

"Cam, what's going on?" I heard Hayley say from behind me.

"Oh good heaven's child!" I mumbled, burying my face in my hands.

"You still haven't answered," Josh said.

They both sat down on either side of me and I felt that I owed them an explanation, but not until I got one first.

"You were eve's dropping again, weren't you?"

"What if we were? We were just trying to figure out what you haven't told us," Hayley retorted.

"Okay, fine. I promise to tell you, but not while the others are capable of eve's dropping. After breakfast we'll make up an excuse to leave the camp, then I'll tell you," I stalled.

Hayley and Josh seemed to contemplate it for a minute before nodding.

"Very well."

<<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>>

After breakfast in the woods.....

"Right, spill it," Hayley told me.

You'd think that during the time I was eating breakfast I would've thought of a way to explain this...But I hadn't.

"Explain what?" Tim asked, walking out of the shadows.

"Oh come on! Give me a break!" I pleaded.

If I had to explain this to my siblings, the last thing I wanted was to get into another fight with Tim.

"He's gonna explain to us why you're here and why there are a bunch of people after us," Hayley explained.

"Well that's easy. Your dad use to be part of a band called the Fierce - they were kinda like pirates - he wanted out and they wouldn't let him. So he snuck away and now they want revenge."

Josh, Hayley, and me looked at Tim with a wide variety of expressions. Hayley and Josh were just puzzled, and I was wondering how I didn't come up with that in the first place.

"That can't be right," Hayley finally said.

"It is, Hayley," I told her.

"I can vouch for that."

"No, I'm serious. I've seen that guy before, and it was when he was with dad."